A "Regrettable" Loss by Ippon, Lee Hyun-ji Earns a Valuable Silver... 'Nemesis' China's Niu Xinlan [Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games]

*This content was translated by AI.

It was a valuable silver medal. Lee Hyun-ji (19, world No. 4), a top prospect in the women's heavyweight judo category for South Korea, narrowly lost at the final hurdle of the Asian Games stage she competed in for the first time in her life.

On the 2nd, Lee Hyun-ji suffered an ippon loss to Niu Xinlan (China, No. 9) in the final of the women's over 78 kg judo event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan.

With this result, Lee Hyun-ji secured a silver medal, bringing to an unfortunate end South Korea's bid for a second consecutive title in the weight class. At the previous 2022 Hangzhou Games, Kim Ha-yoon (Ansan City Hall) had won the gold medal. With her loss on the day, Lee Hyun-ji also continued her all-time head-to-head record against Niu Xinlan with four straight defeats.

Lee Hyun-ji controlled the early flow of the final. Having gained the upper hand in the grip fight, Lee Hyun-ji secured the first waza-ari with a leg entanglement (ushiro-gake) just 1 minute and 20 seconds into the match, seizing the initiative.

It was a regrettable comeback loss. Lee Hyun-ji had even drawn a shido penalty from her opponent to secure a favorable position, but with 1 minute and 46 seconds remaining in the match, she was caught off guard by Niu Xinlan's sudden counterattack with a leg entanglement (ushiro-gake), falling down and conceding a painful ippon loss.

Lee Hyun-ji, who had already made her mark early by winning the 2024 World Junior Championships in October while attending Namnyeong High School, grew rapidly after moving directly to the senior stage last year, winning a gold medal at the Astana Grand Slam in Kazakhstan and a bronze medal at the World Championships. In particular, in the final of the Tokyo Grand Slam in December last year, she defeated her senior Kim Ha-yoon with an ippon victory via a throw (osoto-gari) to claim the title, securing the 2025 Korea Judo Association Choi U-su-seon (수상).

Following this, Lee Hyun-ji, who had also beaten Kim Ha-yoon in the national team selection trials last March to earn the national team badge, maintained her unstoppable upward momentum on her first Asian Games stage. She defeated Totan Satchadet (Thailand) with an ippon in just 5 seconds in the quarterfinals, and advanced to the final by defeating home favorite Miki Mukonoki (Japan) with a waza-ari victory in the semifinals.

On the day, South Korean judo faced a setback as Kim Min-jong (Yangpyeong County Hall), a strong gold medal contender in the men's over 100 kg category, was eliminated early in the quarterfinals. However, Lee Hyun-ji, the youngest member of the heavyweight division, advanced to the final, preserving the team's dignity.

Having concluded her individual competition with a silver medal, Lee Hyun-ji will once again hunt for gold in the mixed team event held on the 3rd. Following the completion of the tournament schedule, she is scheduled to compete at the World Championships to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan.

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*This content was translated by AI.